


Losing Light

by bonafidereader



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, sometime around book three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:55:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5680498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonafidereader/pseuds/bonafidereader
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laurent. He was pushing his way through the soldiers and towards where Damen lay.<br/>“You fool,” he muttered, sinking down next to Damen in the dirt. “You absolute fool.”<br/>“You’ve said that already,” Damen informed him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Losing Light

Damen fell to his knees, his brother dead in front of him and a sword wound slicing across his abdomen. There was another cut, this one from Kastors knife, in his right shoulder. He didn’t feel anything. He didn’t hear anything. All he saw was Kastor, dead with Damen sword through his heart, buried to the hilt.

_Damianos. Prince Killer._

He’d killed two brothers now, but there was no victory in this death and any he had felt after Marlas had slowly drained away until nothing was left at all. Damen knew he might feel differently later but now the pain was starting to make itself known and all he really wanted was-

“Your Highness, wait-“

Laurent. He was pushing his way through the soldiers and towards where Damen lay.

“You fool,” he muttered, sinking down next to Damen in the dirt. “You absolute fool.”

“You’ve said that already,” Damen informed him. He was suddenly very tired and his shoulder and abdomen felt like they were on fire. Slowly he slipped backward, leaning against Laurent's chest and shoulder.  

“Yes, and I will continue to say it at least until you stop throwing yourself in harm’s way,” Laurent snapped.

 “It had to be done,” Damen replied, but the end of his response was lost by a pained sound that made its way from between his lips.

Then Laurent did something that Damen hadn’t ever thought he would – he hummed a soothing sound and gently ran his fingers through Damen’s hair. It felt so good and Damen was so _tired_ and everything _hurt_ , so he let his eyes slip closed. It was only a moment before Laurent was shaking him, ordering his eyes back open again.

“You need to stay awake,” he barked.

“Hmmm?” Damen sighed, sinking further back into Laurent. He really was very comfortable.

“I said you need to stay awake,” Laurent told him again, “If you don’t…with how badly you’re hurt…”

The sentence didn’t need any more clarification, even to Damen hazy mind. If he slept now, he might not wake up again.

“I didn’t think you cared so much,” he joked, cursing when his side it up in pain again, eyes slipping shut again.

Behind him, he could hear Laurent giving out orders but Damen couldn't bring himself to care about what they were. Laurent was here, with him, and if he was going to die, which was very likely at this point given how much he was hurting and the dots that danced in front of his eyes, then there was nowhere else he wanted to be. There was just one thing –

“L-Laurent?” he mumbled, tired but getting the name out anyhow.

“Yes?” piercing blue eyes were on him and the hand was back in his hair.

“I’m, I-I,” Damen struggled to get the sentence out.

“Shh,” Laurent soothed him, “it’s okay. Take your time.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t think I have much left an-“

“No!” Laurent snapped, “You are _not allowed_ to say that. Not now, not after everything.”

Damen nodded and tried again, but breathing hurt and moving hurt and he was slipping. He knew it.

“Laurent,” he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that,” Laurent cried, pushing their foreheads together. “You can’t say that. You can’t go.” His voice had lowered to a whisper and his eyes were brimming with tears. “You can’t come into my life, fuck everything up by making me fall in love with you and then just _go._ ”

And then Laurent was crying, heartbreaking sobs and Damen knew he didn't deserve these tears. Didn't deserve to make this wonderful man hurt anymore then he already had because of Damen, so he smiled and let his eyes fluttered closed one more time.

“No, no, no, _NO!_ ” Laurent screamed. “God, I’m so sorry Damen. Please stay. I love you, I lov-,”

 

Muttered voices swirled around Damen and pulled him out of sleep. He let himself rest a little longer in the dark, listening in on what the people around him had to say.

“I am starting to worry. If he sleeps for much longer-,”

“Then we’ll deal with it when it happens, but for now, don’t bring this up around the prince.”

“What kind of a fool do you think I am? He’s in a bad enough mood as it is.”

And Damen didn’t hear anymore as he drifted back to sleep.

 

The next time Damen woke up, he actually managed to open his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in a tent, laying on a bed surrounded by furs and silks. This was Laurents bed.

Then he noticed Laurent.

He was asleep in the chair next to the bed, his head bent at an awkward angle. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was falling out of its braid. The candles that burned on almost every available surface washed him in golden light.

Damen had never seen someone so beautiful.

He tried to shift his position but the cut on his shoulder shot pain through his arm and he let out a groan, wincing as he did so. He’d hoped not to wake up Laurent but seemed to have failed in doing that as well. Daman watched as blues eyes fluttered open, looking at the surroundings before they landed on him. Laurent sat up a little bit straighter and started at him, long and hard. The silence thickened in the air, made things almost uncomfortable in a way that things hadn’t been between them in a long time.

Then- "So you're awake." Laurent's voice was cold, almost angry.

“I’m awake.”

Nodding once, Laurent stood up. “I will go fetch Paschal.”

Damen was into much a state of shock at his attitude to do anything while Laurent stalked out of the tent but sit back and wait for someone to come back who might be able to give him an answer.

That someone, it turned out, was Paschal. The physician had finished re-dressing his wounds, which Damen had been pleased to hear were healing well before the Crowned Prince of Vere was even brought up. 

“Be gentle with him,” Paschal told Damen just as he was leaving.

“Who?” he asked.

Paschal turned and gave him a long-suffering look that Damen had become rather used to. “His Majesty has been in a great state of distress since you were wounded. Hardly left your side once,” he told Damen, before leaving.

 

It was early evening before Laurent returned to the tent. He walked in, hair re-braided and looking a little more refreshed than he had earlier. He looked at Damen as though he was unsure if he would be welcome but sat in the chair by the bed again anyways.

“Paschal tells me that you are healing well,” Laurent started.

“Yes, he seemed pleased earlier,” Damen told him. He wasn’t exactly sure where he stood with Laurent at the moment.

The thing was, he remembered what Laurent had told him before he had blacked out. _I love you._ The exact words Damen had been trying to force out as well. They’d never said that to each other before, but now…Well, now he wasn’t sure what to do.

“How long have I been asleep?” he asked Laurent, trying for something that would get the conversation going.

“Four days,” Laurents' voice was tight and his gaze hard as steel. He pushed out of the chair and went to stand by one of the desks, his back turned to Damen.

“And how have you been these last four days?” Damen attempted.

A snort and a shake of his head were all Laurent gave as an answer. Something was wrong.

“Laurent, please talk to me,” Damen asked.

That was all that was said for a very long few minutes. Laurent took in several deep breaths and Damen was almost positive that they were going to wait in silence forever, before-

“You promised that you wouldn’t leave.”

"What?" Damen started. He hadn't been expecting that.

“You promised me that you’d stay for as long as I wanted you to,” Laurent almost blurted the words out, like he had been trying to keep them in and just hadn’t been able too.

“Yes,” Damen nodded, “I remember.”

And he did. He remembered the vulnerability in Laurents' face and the shake in his voice, how he would've promised anything to make it stop and to bring back the confident prince he'd never wanted to leave behind.

“Why are you bringing this up now?” Damen asked.

Laurent whipped around and he look positively livid – his fist were clenched at his sides and his eyes had adopted the steel-like quality that they did whenever he was this angry. However when he spoke, the tremors in his voice betrayed something else. Something almost like fear.

“You almost _died_. I think that qualifies as _leaving_.”

Then Damen remembered and then he understood. 

“Come over here,” he said, voice soft.

When the other man made no signs of movement, Damen tried again.

“Laurent,” he begged. “Please.”

Slowly and with more caution than Damen thought necessary, Laurent moved closer towards the bed. He stopped and sat at the edge, looking at Damen with worry. He reached out a hand, almost like he was going to run it through Damen's hair but pulled it back. Damen still managed to catch it, lacing their fingers together and letting them fall to his lap.

“I’m sorry,” Damen said, every word laced with honesty. “I’m sorry if I frightened you and I’m sorry for almost breaking my promise. I will do my very best to never have that happen again.”

The corner of Laurents' mouth twitched up and his eyes softened making him look almost fond. This time, when he lifted his hand he really did run it through Damen's hair and down the side of his face to cradle his cheek.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Damianos. It is unfitting of a future king.”

Turning his head, Damen pressed a soft kiss to Laurents palm causing a muffled sound of surprise to fall from Laurents' mouth. When he looked back up Laurents' face was filled with something that Damen couldn't read.

“I do not think,” Damen started, “that I wish to be king. Not if I can’t have you by my side.”

The look of surprise that came onto Laurents face almost had Damen laughing.

“How do you think that will work?” he demanded. “In case you haven’t noticed, our people don’t get along.”

“Well, neither did we,” Damen said, “and neither did our armies. They’ve all seemed to figure it out.”

It was true. After a rough beginning, the two legions of men had fought well together and some had even become friends.

“You’re insane. That is the only possible explanation for you thinking this could ever work,” Laurent told him.

“Maybe,” Damen nodded. “But I love you too so I’m willing to do anything to keep from breaking my promise.”

And then Laurent was kissing him and it was soft, just a press of lips on lips and Damen could do nothing but draw his hands up to cup the back of Laurents' neck and pull him closer. When they broke apart, his hands didn't fall and Laurent reached up to grab a one of his arms.

“Are you sure you want everybody to know that you fucked the Ice Prince of Vere?” Laurent asked. There was humor in his voice but nerves lying underneath it.

“I would tell the whole world if it meant I could have you for the rest of my life,” Damen promised.

“I love you,” Laurent blurted bringing his hand up to cover his mouth immediately after.

Damen sat up a little straighter and pulled Laurent closer into him until Laurent was straddled across his lap and had rested both hands on Damen shoulders.

“I know,” Damen said, smiling and tucking a piece of golden hair behind Laurents' ear. "I love you too."

There wasn’t much else to say after that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So the idea for this fic came from a post that the amazing caravaggion on tumblr posted. Go check out her blog, it is wonderful.  
> The title come from Jaymes Young's song One Last Time


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